LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Thursday 22nd May 2008

Boycotting This Week This Week

Went downstairs to watch This Week, having refused to watch Question Time because Blears was on it and she would make me unfeasibly angry and it's not worth it. Discovered that This Week has got not only Quentin Twat on, but Johnny Vegas. Vegas may or may not be a sex offender - lets wait for the results of his libel case, shall we? - but what he most certainly is includes politically illiterate, idiotic, and offensive. I will not watch any programme which has him in it, even if it is generally my favourite political programme. Sorry, Andrew, if ...

Lib Dems (just about) take control of Derby

Paul Linford has the story.

The educational background of Guardian journalists

The current Private Eye has an item listing a number of prominent Guardian journalists who went to fee-paying schools. I had meant to reproduce it here, but my copy of Lord Gnome's organ is now being recycled by Harborough District Council. Fortunately, Guido Fawkes has reprinted the story, though without crediting Private Eye. There's nothing wrong with going to a public school and having left-wing views, of course, but it is interesting to know things like this.

Labour did not have to call the Crewe by-election for months

Given the probablity of a heavy defeat for Labour later this evening, it is worth recalling that they could have waited for months before moving the writ for the by-election. So anxious were they to have the contest quickly that they called if before Gwyneth Dunwoody's funeral. I doubt that will seem such a clever move in a few hours' time.

Home Office goes bonkers

So - as the BBC reports - the Home Office wants to put together a mammoth database holding details of every single email sent and phone call made in the UK. Sometimes you see or hear something - and you just cannot believe where this country of free speech and individual liberty is heading. We all want to defeat terrorism - but expensive, all encompassing monitoring is never going to be the answer - particularly when it will involve such huge databases that it will be vastly expensive (taking money away from other measures), present huge security risks (imagine the ...

And Tim Parker makes it five

London Mayor Boris Johnson has now appointed five deputy mayors in various guises - messrs Barnes, Clement, Lewis, Malthouse�and now Tim Parker too. Do you get the feeling that, just perhaps, he’s not that keen on actually doing the job of Mayor himself? After all, it’s not as if he’s given up his journalism commitments [...]

Lies, lies and more lies

� � Conservative MP, Ian Liddle-Grainger,�can be seen in this video�accusing Liberal Democrat controlled, �Somerset County Council, �of "corruption and cover-up at the highest level".��You'd think, given the seriousness nature of the accusation�Mr Liddel-Grainger would have approached either�the police or serious fraud office to have them investigate immediately.��You'd be wrong!� Rather than risk possible�legal action,� Mr Liddel-Grainger�has confined his accusation to the relative safety of �Parliament, where it seems,�he is protected from prosecution by�his Parliamentary privilage.� Coward!��

Thursday Updates ...

A very productive site visit at the Benvie Road steps this morning. It had been previously agreed to upgrade the steps and I met with the Waste Management and Planning & Transportation Departments to look at the issues and agree solutions.Agreed : Waste Management to remove paint on the steps and remove weeds, etc. As you can see below (photo I took just before my 5pm surgery at Mitchell Street) the work was started straight away. Planning & Transportation to re-point the steps and remove any trip hazards (see above right)I am writing to the adjacent owners about the fallen ...

Killing the Cheeky Girls - The movie

Is this going to be the top-rated film of the summer? Yes, it is real. The Cheeky Girls have been on tour around Europe filming their answer to 'The French Connection'. The press release tells us all: Billionaire actor director Alki David, 47th on the Times UK Rich List, performs extreme human experiment in a threesome with The Cheeky Girls , to create the most outrageous reality movie of all time! Dubbed by the Star, Express and Independent Newspapers as the all-time wildest in reality pop culture, Alki David and The Cheeky Girls pull off the most the outrageous reality ...

Eurovision part deux

The contestants in the second semi-final are profiled here, thanks to Liberal Revolution. Why is Wendy Alexander singing for Macedonia?

The First Tim Garden Memorial Lecture

�The inaugural lecture in what will be an annual event, in memory of the much missed Liberal Democrat peer and foreign affairs, defence and security expert, Tim Garden, will be given at the National Liberal Club in London on Wednesday 11 June,�7pm for 7.30.pm, under the auspices of the British Group of Liberal International (of [...]

BBC Question Time: open thread

Lib Dem party president and two-time leadership contender Simon Hughes is one of the panellists on tonight's Question Time (broadcast on BBC1 and online from 10.35 pm GMT). The panel will also include the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Hazel Blears, the Conservative shadow minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude, the chief [...]

Youth Live - anniversary already

I can hardly believe this, but we are soon to celebrate the first anniversary of our first edition of Youth Live magazine! It only seems like yesterday that we were at Radio Merseyside having the party for edition one. Since then the team of young people has grown, as has the team of volunteers. And the magazine has gone through changes based on talking to potential readers. Youth Live exists to provide opportunities for young people to get involved in writing, editing, designing and so on. If you want to know more, have a look at www.youthlive.co.uk

On the board!

I have been appointed to the Executive Board on Liverpool City Council! I was offered the position last week, but it only became official on Tuesday as it had to go through at the Council AGM. I am now the Executive Member for Ethical Governance. It's a new portfolio so I am spending the next week having loads of briefing meetings and setting things up. It's going to be a big challenge, but the more I read my way into it the more I can see how there's lots that can be done.

Nick Clegg most secure party leader ... according to Betfair

I was having a look through Betfair earlier and was interested to see that of all the party leaders, Nick Clegg appeared to be the most secure. How did I measure this ? Well not one person has made a bet on Nick Clegg stepping down as lib Dem Party leader. A small amount has been bet on David Cameron and as you might guess, a much larger amount had been bet on Gordon Brown going.

Labour deserves to lose Crewe but Conservatives don't deserve to win

It is over an hour to go before the close of polls but I would be in need of a reality transplant if I were to deny that the Conservatives will win. Frankly, Labour deserve to lose today. The byelection is not just about sending Gordon Brown a message about his performance. It is a message to the whole Labour party. They all sucked up to Brown (okay a few honourable exceptions) and handed him the

Oil think twice! - The Government's latest oil price forecast

Today, Oil reached $135 per barrel and the 24hour TV media began covering in earnest the probability that oil will reach $200 at some point during the next year. The Guardian reported that the Government have been widely urged to 'take action'. Yet there is much worse news brewing for the Government. Look at this answer in Parliament back in February by Transport Minister Tom Harris: Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what price of oil has been used by her Department when making forecasts of congestion on the road network; and if she will make ...

At last, Boris makes a shrewd appointment

Boris Johnson has appointed private equity tycoon, Tim Parker, as his chief of staff. Parker, who was dubbed by the GMB union as "The Prince of Darkness" for his slash and burn approach to turning around failing businesses, will go under the title of First Deputy Mayor and will also be chief executive of the GLA Group. Up until now, Boris's appointments have been a mix of local government worthies (who seem more interested in sucking what they can from the GLA's generous members allowance scheme) and new-Tory media types. The Mayor finally has someone on his team who looks ...

Boris Johnson Resignation Watch Day um... 17! The by-election tango

Will the Henley by-election ever be held? The Times is reporting it could all depend on the outcome of today’s vote in Crewe and Nantwich. If they win, the Tories will seek to capitalise on their momentum, if they lose, they’ll hold off until after the summer recess. The writ won’t be moved because of, you [...]

This is me building a website...

See me, website building... In other news: FANDOM COLLISION! I may actually have to watch the next episode of Doctor Who. This is because it apparently features a cameo from a favourite Top Gearite... Help a Struggling Artist! My friend Gina is an artist. Not of the Piss variety, a proper, bona fide, inky-fingered provider of pictorial excellence. She's selling some prints from her current project, a children's book called The Great Potoo. Go and buy them, and when she's rich and famous (as a girl with her talent surely will be) you'll have yourself a nice little nest egg ...

Iraq Invasion Rationale Exposed?

So this is what it was all about. According to USA Today Iraq is becoming one of the largest customers for US arms, as Iraq turns from Soviet-bloc weapons to more expensive and sophisticated US ...

John Warman Launches Water Petition

Senior Liberal Democrat councillor for Cimla, John Warman, is one of the first to launch an online petition on the Assembly website, against adding fluoride to our water supply. John heads the Campaign Against Fluoridation (CAF) and he hopes that people will offer their support. He says "I want to get in early to make sure people get the message and do not let the water be tampered with and keep the water pure" John can guarantee my support on this issue (writes Annette Sparkes of Tonmawr). I have done extensive research into the harm done by fluoride. The fluoride ...

Sunny Side Up

The sky is blue and the sun is shining so I must still be in California. Wonder if the locals get bored with the weather and yearn for a little light drizzle or the occasional cloud cover and co...

Crewe and Nantwich by-election: open (speculation) thread

There are just four hours til polls close in today’s by-election to decide who will succeed the formidable Gwyneth Dunwoody as MP for Crewe and Nantwich. Everyone’s expecting a solid Conservative victory, which would be their first by-election triumph against the incumbent party since 1982. The key question seems to be: how big will be [...]

and then I went to Crewe

The Crewe bye-election was called whilst we were in India, with indecent haste. (The bye-election that is, not our honeymoon). Woe betide any Labour MP who looks a bit peaky in future - the writ will be moved before you can say "doctor, I've got this pain". With such a short campaign, I knew I'd only get one chance to get up to Crewe and Nantwich, so eve of poll and election day seemed as good a time as any. So after my Select Committee yesterday, I headed north, and arrived at our headquarters at the same time as Mark ...

UPDATED: Tory PPC for Taunton

It must be exhausting having to fight a General Election all year round, but if you're selected to run against an MP like Jeremy Browne you must need all the energy you can get. Attempting to persuade the voters of Taunton to oust their perfectly able and gifted MP must be a pretty arduous and draining task. Obviously not short of time or money, and most likely both, Mark Formosa runs surgeries in Taunton Deane and jumps on every bandwagon going spare, breaking a few rules and laws along the way. Constantly of scruffy appearance despite wearing suits and responsible ...

Second Eurovision Semi

So to all the hardcore fans whom are you voting for? This in some ways seems to be a stronger semi though a lot of the songs seem harder to put a score too. Here goes though: 1. Iceland - Great opener - modern Icelandic europop and one of the stories in this semi is the duel [...]

Brevity, Conservation and Signs

Just a brief post today, since I have been out all day and haven’t had the time to compose a longer one. I am also tired, having stayed up way past my bed time watching the football, and then been kept up even longer by the whooping neighbours and their fireworks / honking car horns. I’d like to think that my disdain is more to do with being above all that than it is to do with jealousy. But it really isn’t. Anyway, so tonight it’s the inaugural meeting of the St Mary’s Conservation Area Action Working Group, which will ...

It's all been a bit quiet......

I've just realised with some surprise that its over a week since I last posted. It's not that I haven't been busy, quite the opposite, but I've rather got out of the habit. Getting back to work after an absence of almost 3 weeks has mostly entailed catching up on e mails, paperwork, phone calls and so on, to the point where the honeymoon already seems like a distant dream. There was post-wedding stuff to do; thank you cards, bills and looking at wedding photos ad nauseam. My colleagues in the Lords held a party for us, a much needed ...

Party donations reveal big differences

Nick Clegg said in his leadership campaign we needed more money. Of course we get far less than the other two main parties, which depend on rich donors, who in return get lots of influence. In the first three months of the year, labour received £3mn, the tories £4.2mn and the LibDems just £470,000. Well that does mean labour got 6 times the money we got and the conservatives 8 times. That's an awful lot. But at least we can have the assurance that we get to have the influence of what happens in our party policies rather than rich ...

The website that thinks Tamsin Dunwoody is a Lib Dem

When the Henley by-election is called, a lot of people searching for news of it will find ThameNews.Net. That website - "the first port of call for ALL THINGS THAME!" - had better raise its game quickly. Take this news report: Boris's Lib Dem apponent goes to Crewe to give support The Liberal Democrat's Parliamentary Candidate for the Henley constituency that includes Thame, has travelled to Crewe to support Tamsin Dunwoody, his party's candidate in today's by-election. Stephen Kearney is the Liberal Democrat candidate for the expected Henley by-election...Oh dear: Stephen Kearney can hardly be Boris's apponent - or even ...

'Goodbye to you....'

It says an awful lot about Labour that it would be an upset if they win Crewe and Nantwich tonight. Things can only get better was Tony Blair's anthem but now the tune has changed with the its 'core vote' bellowing out an angry rendition of Anastasia's Sick and Tired. It is not entirely true that there is nothing that can save Labour now but there is close to nothing that can save it; yes two years is a long time but the tide of public sentiment against it is awfully strong and all flowing in one direction. Progressive steps ...

Ludlow Town Council back to its best

Ludlow Town Council has been quiet of late. No fist-fights or dogs at its meetings. But the Shropshire Star suggests that it is returning to its old ways:Mayor-making in Ludlow was disrupted as one councillor branded another a liar and threatened court action before leaving without seeing the ceremony. Councillor Nick Galtress ... made the accusations towards deputy mayor-elect Derek Davies at yesterday's robing ceremony in the town's Assembly Rooms. After Jim Newbold was chosen as mayor, and before Councillor Davies could be approved as his deputy, Councillor Galtress asked to address the meeting and made his claim. In a ...

Social circles

Now this picture takes some explaining... Euan Semple is talking at the International Political Forum on eDemocracy about social networking and Web 2.0. To illustrate the immediacy of the medium he had taken a photo of me this morning when I had been talking to the same audience about Facebook. He then uploaded it to Flickr, and here it was on the screen already as a bit of...

In praise of Bob Shaw

Bob Shaw has deleted his latest blogging incarnation, which was "Hasta la victoria siempre" and now his name on LibDemblogs is linked to "Fine words butter no parsnips". Excellent title, Bob. But then again so was "The Cowley Street Bedouin", "Willow Man" and "House of Cards" (and any others I have missed). Bob writes a frank, engaging and good humoured blog, although I don't always, indeed

"Fine Words Butter No Parsnips"

� Well, the big day is finally upon us!��The good people of Crewe and Nantwich have finally gone to the polls.� So, as we all sit, eagerly awaiting the result, what are our chances?� I'll tell you what are chances are - nil!��Well, I ask you, whats the point�in deluding ourselves?� We haven't got, nor have we ever had, a cat's chance in hell.� It's foolish to think otherwise. �Realistically, our best hope�was, and still is,�a�credible 3rd.� Elizabeth Shenton and her team may well have done a sterling job for the Lib Dems but, as my dear old Nan (god ...

Crewe and Nantwich - dirty politics part 3 - Pandering

The third and final thing that has annoyed me about the Crewe and Nantwich by-election is what I will call pandering.

Vote early, vote often, vote for your neighbours

The telegraph brings details of research that tells us all that we already know about voting blocs in the Eurovision songcontest. But also that the UK is "clean", which also means that we're unlikely to ever win again. Quite frankly Terry Wogan could have written this.

Go! team

I've recently splurged on a few CDs from Amazon, and I'm currently listening to the excellent Go! Team. This purchase was inspired by seeing them for about 5mins of Glasto coverage last year. £5 worth spending just for the brilliant "Junior Kickstart" track.

Parking issue again

The "Evening Telegraph" contacted me recently following residents' concerns about the parking situation and a report appears in tonight's edition - click on the headline above to view.

Hillary as Obama's VP running mate: 'A hell of an idea'

Taegan Goodard's Political Insider site pulls together some of the pundits' views on the prospects of Hillary Clinton as Vice Presidential running mate of Barack Obama. I like this one from former adviser to Bill Clinton, Dick Morris, writing in The Hill, which beautifully sums up the scenario: It would be an act of terminal insanity for Barack Obama to name Hillary Clinton as his vice

on the Henley by-election

According to the Times, David Cameron is preparing to issue the writ for Boris Johnson's seat - Henley sometime next week, if the party wins in Crewe and Nantwich today. The plan is to capitalise on any Tory-bounce that would occur by having a by-election in Henley sooner rather than later. If this were the case the election would take place at the start of July, resulting in a two, rather than three jobs Boris. If the Conservatives fail to win tonight, then the Henley by-election will be postponed until after the summer recess. The Conservatives have yet to choose ...

Clinton has lost - Kagan

The Hillary Clinton campaign is clearly in the denial stage of grief at losing it's once sure grip on the Democratic nomination. It is highly likely that Obama will be able to secure a majority of pledged delegates before the convention in August. However, her campaign soldiers on aided and abetted by the occasional big win. The political reality is though that she has lost and the only thing her campaign can achieve is to damage the Democrat's prospects of winning the White House. Republicans increasingly recognise that Obama is the nominee and the latest one to do that is ...

Vince's secret power exposed?

Maybe this is why Vince Cable is such an outstanding practical economist. He dances. Or so you might conclude from this argument from a key modern outline of economics. Getting an economy to expand is more like dancing than cooking. The frequently used metaphor of finding right "policy recipe" is misleading... it is not possible to set down a simple list of ingredients and a technique anyone could follow. Getting an economy expanding... depends on a complex sequence of decisions and policies, involving many partners ... past choices, current resources and good luck So perhaps the mental training of a ...

Bank Holiday Weekend Events in Birmingham - 24-26 May 2008

There are five major events in Birmingham this Bank Holiday Weekend, many of which are free or very low cost. Birmingham Gay Pride Festival - Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 May Pride goes Eurovision this year with Bucks Fizz and Brotherhood of Man on stage in Hurst Street. Market stalls and lots entertainment on the streets, the festival kicks off at 3pm on Saturday. Headline acts at the Nightingale

Crewe and Nantwich - dirty politics part 2 - Name calling

Another thing that has annoyed me about the Crewe and Nantwich by-election is the silly name calling.

"Foolish People"

Are you a writer? You're a writer, obviously, but are you A Writer? Today I have discovered that I am A Writer. Not, of course, through being any good at it, but instead through this description of being A Writer by Linda Grant, who is A Writer / novelist: "The writer's life consists of the following activities: staring in sick dread at a blank sheet of paper or Word document; typing something then deleting it; lying on the sofa daydreaming; staring out the window; making another cup of tea ... Writers are foolish people who mistake their own interior worlds ...

Day 2693: On Expenses Encore

Friday: You MAY remember that a month or so ago, I told you how Mr Speaker of the Housemartin had decided to waste a whole lot of everybody's time and money by going to court to try and keep MPs expenses secret. Well, today he had his day before the beak and the judgement was that he'd wasted a whole lot of everybody's time and money by going to court and no, MPs expenses were NOT going to be kept secret. We'll find out the answers by this FRIDAY. Just in time to be BURIED by Mr Frown's bad-news day. ...

Challenging feudalism from the comfort of Europe's largest modern castle

The Barclay Borthers Fort Brecqhou I see that the Barclay Brothers, owners of the Telegraph and many other media outlets, are having their day in the High Court to challenge the new constitutional arrangements for Sark (in the Channel Islands) on the good old Liberal basis that "they don't go far enough". (See earlier post)Good for them. But I have a chuckle every time I hear about this Sark

on declaring expenses

The complicated system of declaring expenses has often been cited as the reason why some MP's fail to declare. Depending on the declaration it has to go to either the Electoral Commission or the Parliamentary Register of Members Interest, or both. However, it seems that the Tories, in a possible attempt to clear headlines about their own Shadow Cabinet donations carousel, have decided to go on the offensive. Unfortunately, it seems it may have backfired. Rosie Cooper MP (Labour) has been attacked by the Tory PPC for her constituency, for failing to declare a trip to South Africa earlier this ...

Déjà vu

I have the Assembly Finance Committee scrutiny of the Foundation Phase on in the background as I work, making use of the excellent Senedd TV facility on the website. Having slanted their questions to the WLGA to imply that the underfunding of this valuable scheme is all the fault of local Councils, who allegedly did not meet the Minister's data needs, Labour members are now expressing outrage about the 'funding fog', which supposedly prevents much needed cash reaching schools. If Labour are going to use this as an excuse they will also have to answer the question as to why ...

Timpson - Labour Candidate

Vote losing mistake from C4?

Forces Forum: Greater Cooperation in Defence?

�We are all well aware of the strains currently facing our Armed Forces and the shortages in essential equipment that have been highlighted both in the media and on the floors of both Houses. {plane-and-troops.JPG} Although we still need to see more from our allies in efforts in Afghanistan in particular, it is clear that�with a limited defence budget that is not set to get any bigger; over £1.2bn spent on Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) to meet immediate demands in 2007 and 2008 alone; and key equipment needed on the front line�we need to be asking ourselves a few questions ...

Nick Clegg meets the Dalai Lama - pictures

His Holiness the Dalai Lama was in Westminster today to meet with Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg and Lib Dem colleagues. There was a big turnout of MPs, peers and staff to greet the exiled Tibetan Leader.

Why i'm really, really glad to be mongrel english

The US election continues to throw up jaw dropping stories. Fresh from trying to woo the 'white working class' in Mulligatawny, New Mexico, or some such place, the headline has it that Barack Obama 'arrives in Florida hoping to win over Hispanics and Jews'. Quite how racially divided the 'land of the free' still is, astonishes me. Imagine if a British party leader went to Peckham to woo the 'Black Working Classes', or to Hampshire to win over the 'chinless Audi drivers'. My advice to anyone with a gripe about England is to bring on the critism of this country ...

The idiots of MySpace, YouTube and Leeds criminals

Exit Warning on MySpace - Tom MySpace Blog MySpace is infested with spammers, phishers and idiots. Rather than dump the phishers and spammers, they've decided to treat all users like idiots. And a huge number of their idiot users thank them for it. Gods I hate that site. (tags: MySpace Phishing spam) 7 Essential Web Design Principles to Earn Trust. And 4 Things to Avoid! | 10e20 Blog Nice little summary here, definitely worth reading if you're writing a lot of web published stuff. Y'know, like blog or LJ posts... (tags: blogging usability writing) Leedsâ™s dumbest criminal: posting crimes on ...

A quick round-up of press coverage

Hornsey Journal - have picked up the story of Mrs Kelly and the NHS's failure to properly provide for her health care. It's also covered the Crouch End Fun Run and my calls for simpler ticket systems for local train travellers. York Press - have covered my visit to York last Friday. The Charities Aid Foundation have picked up on my comments about China's response to its awful earthquake.

Remarkable praise for Ted Kennedy

I once read a book about Edward Kennedy by a former assistant of his, Richard E Burke. It was a fascinating read (although disputed as unfactual by Kennedy himself). One thing that came out of it very strongly, is that, because his two brothers were shot, Edward Kennedy had a very acute sense of his mortality and a determination to enjoy every minute of his life. The news about his malignant

Labour minority to lead Reading Borough Council

After days of negotiation, the Reading Evening Post today reports that the Labour minority is to form the administration at Reading Borough Council, supported by the Tories. So the commenter or commenters on my earlier post, who speculated that the LibDems in Reading had done a deal to support a Tory or Labour administration was/were talking....er...round sphericals. The Reading Evening Post

Labour peer cleared of deliberate misconduct, but questions remain over inquiry

Labour peer Doug Hoyle has been cleared of deliberate misconduct by an inquiry into the circumstances in which he introduced Michael Wood,�an advisor to the arms industry, to Lord Drayson, the Minister responsible for arms procurement. Hoyle failed to declare that he was receiving money from Michael Wood, but defended himself saying that the payments [...]

Red & Blue

As I am in Tallinn, I am not quite sure why I stayed up so late to watch the European Champions League Final- for a start, the time difference meant that I did not get to bed until 2.30. Furthermore, it is not as if I was that interested in the outcome- I am not too interested in English Football, indeed my interest overall is confined to a rather half hearted interest in the results from Pittodrie, and as another half-hearted season comes to an end for Aberdeen, I doubt that I will miss football too much over the summer ...

Crewe and Nantwich - dirty politics part 1 - I am more local than you!

One of the things that has annoyed me about the Crewe and Nantwich by-election (polling today) is the desperate attempt by all three main political parties to try and claim to be local.

The cost of staying warm

A new report by Energywatch confirms what we have long suspected, that consumers of electricity in South Wales are paying more for their power than anybody else in the UK. Their research shows that South Walians pay 5% more for electricity than consumers in north Wales and 10% more than those in England and Scotland, adding an additional £19 million to the profits of these big power companies. Putting these figures into context, 270,000 Welsh households are now classed as fuel-poor, up from 130,000 in 2004, whilst we still languish at the bottom of the league in terms of GVA. ...

Oops!

It is not so long ago that Tory shadow justice minister, Nick Herbert backed the call for "a new offence of reckless mishandling of personal data" and described the loss of data CDs by HM Revenue and Customs as suggesting "a cavalier attitude to the handling of personal information by government agencies". Will he now be calling for those responsible for e-mailing the names, addresses, telephone numbers and intentions of 8,000 voters in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election to a radio station in the Isle of Man to be prosecuted? As the e-mail came from the Conservatives I will not ...

Two days in Henley

I went up to Henley at the start of the week to help out and take some pics of our excellent candidate Stephen Kearney. Stephen is a really nice bloke who has run a development charity with his partner Julia. They work on community development projects in the UK and in Africa. Stephen's is a keen narrowboater - he used to live on one - and has a great affection for Britain's waterways (there are plenty of those in Henley). During the day we met lots of boaters and Stephen seems to be gaining lots of votes there, as well ...

Cornwall triumph to reach County Final

Cornwall beat Eastern Counties (who they?) 43 -0 on Saturday and now will play in the County Shield Final (sort of the B division) at Twickenham on June 1st. As the previous week, All Black players led the way with Matt Jess and Sam Hocking scoring tries and Mark Scrivenor slotting five conversions and a penalty. Regrettably I won't be at the final (which takes place at 10am on a Sunday morning!) but I know that quite a few thousand Cornishmen true will be there. And Cornwall will play in the top competition next year. Pics: Matt Jess scores the ...

Sorry, been offline for a while...

dog sitting for my mother whose broadband had stopped working (cheers, Talk Talk). Back on now and expect a few updates.

Oil breaks new price barriers

Crude oil rose to a record above $135 a barrel in New York after U.S. stockpiles unexpectedly dropped and a report said the IEA may lower supply forecasts. The price will be likely to drop from time to time, but all the evidence is that we are now an a systematically constrained supply situation. This changes the market from primarily a buyers market to a sellers market. Demand, therefore,

Tories Ready For Government Shocker!

The Conservatives yesterday aimed to show the voters of Crewe and Nantwich they can do anything the Labour Government can do by recklessly scattering the personal data of eight thousand constituents. They've still got a long way to go before they beat Labour's record for dangerous data dispersal - Labour's record-breaking attempt last year being a staggering twenty-five million people, at the time* the worst data disaster in the history of the world - but given that the Tories aren't even in government, a mess-up of this order certainly shows ambition for what they could do if they get there. ...

Labour AM condemns unfair care charges

Gwenda Thomas, AM for Neath, in her capacity as Deputy Minister for Social Services, on Tuesday laid before the Assembly the LCO outlined last November. One of the local authorities she criticised by implication was her home council of Neath Port Talbot, which, as one of the measures aimed at keeping down council tax increases, hiked care charges this year.

When Hampstead Borough was bombed in WWII

For the London Borough of Hampstead the war was pretty eventful and some of the consequences can still be seen in gaps in lines of terraces, new blocks (relatively) amongst older ones.. When I pass Sidney Boyd Court on West End Lane now I now understand that it was a matching terrace but was bombed out and so later re-built. But some numbers to think on: From September 3rd 1939 to May 11th 1941 560 alerts were sounded During the period August 15th 1940 to end of June 1941 569 alerts lasting 1427 hours 13 minutes The alert in this ...

Big Brother Watch - watch them because they're watching you

Britain is a society under endemic surveillance. Now those lovely people at the Home Office want to create a data base of all of our emails, phonecalls, and skype conversations. Well they can just fuck off. I know this isn't East Germany and MI5 are hardly the Stasi, but still this is a totally unacceptable breach of privacy. The State needs to seriously back the fuck off. Now.

Pr, publicity and a get out clause

Hmm, a little behind on this one[2]. How about this for a publicity stunt? The Get Out Clause[1] are a Manchester based band who, apparently, are a bit skint, so rather than hire a video producer, they wandered around Manchester with some kit and performed in front of CCTV, then used some FoI to get hold of the footage, and edit it together to get this (you might want to turn the volume down, not my sort of thing anyway): Not a bad little video on zero budget, right? Um, well, according to a comment on the YouTube page: They ...

on tax riots

There are no riots in the streets of London, or indeed in the streets of Crewe and Nantwich. In March 1990 however, a Conservative tax led to mass riots (video), Shocking to look back.

Day 2691: Unidentified Frowning Object

Wednesday: According to the EXPERTS, Great Britain has NOT been visited by ALIENS. Which somehow FAILS to explain what PLANET Mr Frown is living on! As with last year, Mr Frown's commitment to open government extends to sharing with us the Parliamentary Bills (or "Ragbag Proposals" according to Mr Clogg) that we are going to get rammed down our throats presented for our considered opinion during the next year. Mr Balloon claims that all these bills are STOLEN from his secret stack of policies that he's not telling us. And that's not a surprise: there's no substance here at all. ...

Thursday 22nd May 2008

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